At a regular briefing, ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said a notice from the ministry asked foreign embassies and consulates in China to notify the ministry's Department of Consular Affairs of "trespassers'' and hand them over to China's police.

Liu said that, according to international law, foreign embassies and consulates do not have the right to grant asylum.

The notice came in the wake of confirmation that "unidentified'' individuals illegally entered the embassies of Canada and the Republic of Korea in Beijing last weekend. Similar incidents have occurred over the past few months in the Spanish Embassy in Beijing and the Japanese Consulate-General in Shenyang in Liaoning Province.

"These incidents harm the relevant embassies' security, interfere with their normal work and are a provocation of Chinese law,'' said Liu. "They affect China's safety and stability.''

Stressing the consistence of China's policy, Liu said that China had already asked the ROK and Canadian embassies to hand over the individuals.

The spokesman also said that China's Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Wenchang will visit Palestine and Israel next week, between Tuesday and Friday.

Yang will exchange views with leaders of the two Israel and Palestine on the situation in the Middle East and on China's ties with them.

Liu again urged both sides to stop their conflict and create conditions for the resolution of disputes through dialogue.

Turning to the United States' first-strike policy, Liu called for the adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter and other norms of international relations to maintain peace and stability.

"It is the common wish of people in different countries to seek peace and co-operation and promote development,'' said Liu.

On June 1, US President George W. Bush said that the cold-war policies of deterrence and containment did not fit the world in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. He said the US military must be prepared to launch pre-emptive military strikes.

Liu Thursday also reiterated China's disapproval of Washington saying a number of countries were part of an "axis of evil.''

The spokesman added: "China opposes terrorism of all kinds. However, counter-terrorism should be well-targeted and conducted with sufficient evidence. Counter-terrorism should not be connected with specific countries, ethnic groups and religions and nor should the scope of counter-terrorism be expanded at will.''

(China Daily June 14, 2002)